V5C Logbook: What You Must Tell DVLA and How to Do It Online

Your V5C logbook isn't just a bit of paper you shove in the glovebox and forget about. It's the DVLA's record of who keeps the car, what the car actually is, and where to send the paperwork. Get it wrong, or let it go stale, and you're the one who ends up chasing tax refunds, missing recall letters, or explaining to a police officer why the car in front of you is registered to someone who moved out three years ago. Here's what you're actually obliged to report, and how much of that you can now do without licking a single stamp.

The changes you're legally required to tell DVLA about

A surprising number of drivers assume the V5C only matters when they sell the car. It doesn't. DVLA needs telling every time certain facts about you or the vehicle change, and the list is longer than most people expect.

Change of address

You must update a vehicle's log book if you're the registered keeper, and if you pay for your vehicle tax by Direct Debit, you need to tell DVLA when you change address. This isn't just admin box-ticking. If your address is wrong, your tax reminder, your MOT expiry correspondence, and any refund cheque all go to a stranger's letterbox instead of yours.

Change of name

Married, divorced, changed it by deed poll, or DVLA simply spelled it wrong in the first place? That has to be corrected too, though as we'll get to below, this one still can't be done online.

Selling, buying or transferring a vehicle

Whether you're the seller or the new keeper, DVLA needs to know the moment ownership changes hands, whether that's a private sale, a trade-in at a dealership, or a gift to a family member.

Modifying the car

Change the engine, swap the fuel type, or alter the bodyshell and DVLA has to be told, with evidence. You must give DVLA evidence or written confirmation if you make certain changes to your vehicle, and your V5C update will be rejected if you do not. That covers engine number or cylinder capacity changes, fuel type conversions, and any structural work.

Personalised plates, scrapping and export

If you buy or transfer a private registration, take a car permanently out of the UK, or scrap it, that all needs recording on your V5C or a related DVLA form too.

How to update your V5C online

DVLA has been steadily moving these services online for a few years, and the two big ones (address changes and telling DVLA you've sold or bought a car) are now genuinely quick to do from your phone.

Changing your address online

To change your address you enter the vehicle registration number, the log book document reference number and the current postcode showing on your V5C, then enter your new address and your details update in real time. A fresh, correctly addressed V5C follows in the post. If it hasn't turned up, contact DVLA if the new log book has not arrived after 4 weeks.

Telling DVLA you've sold or bought a car

The sold-or-bought service works similarly. The service is available 7am to 7pm, 7 days a week, and all you need is the 11-digit document reference number from your vehicle V5C. Once submitted, you'll get an email confirming it's gone through, and you'll automatically receive a refund for any full remaining months of vehicle tax, sent to the address on your V5C. If you're buying privately, it's worth checking the seller's story stacks up before you hand over any money. A quick reg lookup tool will show you the car's current MOT history and tax status against its number plate, which is a useful sanity check before you complete a private sale.

Sorting a new log book and vehicle tax together

If your documents have gone missing and you also need to tax the car, there's now a joined-up route for that. As a registered vehicle keeper, you can apply for a new vehicle log book and tax online at the same time, meaning you can continue to use your vehicle without waiting up to 5 days for your new log book to arrive in the post. This service was rolled out by DVLA in April 2025, so it's a genuinely recent addition rather than something that's been quietly available for years.

What still has to go by post

Not everything has caught up with the online world yet. A few changes still mean filling in the relevant section of the V5C and posting the whole document to DVLA in Swansea:

• Changing your name (marriage, divorce, deed poll, or a spelling correction)
• Vehicle detail changes such as engine, colour, cylinder capacity or fuel type, along with the required evidence
• Structural modifications or converting a car to run on electricity, which needs a V627/3 modified vehicle statement

If you've converted your vehicle to run on electricity, it counts as a modification, and you must send evidence of the structural modification or electric conversion when you update your V5C. Skip the paperwork on a conversion like that and you risk the update being bounced straight back.

Lost, stolen or damaged V5C

If the logbook itself has gone missing, you'll need to apply for a replacement. If you have not received your log book after 6 weeks and you have not notified DVLA, you'll have to pay £25 to get a replacement. This can usually be done online if your details haven't changed, or by post using form V62 if anything else needs correcting at the same time.

What happens if you don't bother telling DVLA

Beyond the practical headaches (missed tax reminders, a refund cheque sent to your old flat, a buyer who never gets their new V5C), there's a legal side to this too. Keepers are under a legal obligation to keep DVLA informed of changes to the details on their V5C, and letting it slide can lead to a penalty. It's a fairly unglamorous way to end up out of pocket for something that takes minutes online.

Keeping on top of it

None of this is complicated once you know which box each change falls into: quick online form for an address or a sale, envelope and evidence for anything to do with the car's specification or your name. The trick is simply not putting it off. If you've just picked up a car privately and want a clearer picture of its MOT and tax record before you commit, our reg lookup tool is a sensible first step, and if you're weighing up how to fund the next one, you can find out more about car finance or browse our other guides on buying and running a car.

Fees such as the £25 replacement V5C charge and penalty amounts are set by DVLA and can change, so always check the current figures on the official GOV.UK pages before you apply.